The Match Between Training and Employment for Students from the Humanities and Social Sciences in Ivory Coast

Abstract

Youth unemployment is today at the heart of concerns worldwide. In Côte d’Ivoire, this issue has been the basis for many reforms, the most recent being the LMD system (Bachelor's, Master's, Doctorate) aimed at bringing theoretical training closer to the professional world. Despite everything, the phenomenon persists. So, this research work is to understand the ways in which the match between training and employment is happening for students in Human and Social Sciences (HSS). To reach this goal, we relied on a qualitative approach by conducting two interview guides. The first guide was given to twenty-seven (27) graduates from the universities of Abidjan and Bouaké, who were looking for jobs after completing their Bachelor's and Master's studies in HSS. The second interview guide was sent to twenty (20) employees, who are former HSS students and work in three (3) different companies. The fields involved are sociology, philosophy, psychology, history, and geography. Using purposeful sampling and a thematic content analysis, this work allowed us to get the following results: Updating the subjects taught to fit professional reality; implementing interdisciplinarity; emphasizing transferable skills and students personal development; introducing work-study training through both occasional seminars led by professionals and student internships; and finally, building a network between teachers, professionals, and students through agreements.

Classification JEL : J64; M53, M54

Paper type : Theoretical Research